“Madrid will be the best city to visit if it is the best city to live in.” It is the premise with which the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, works, who has announced that the new regulations being prepared by the City Council will restrict the proliferation of tourist apartments in neighboring communities.
During an interview given at the Metafuturo 2024 forum, organized by Atresmedia at the Ateneo de Madrid and attended by, among other personalities, Salvador Illa and Imanol Pradales, the mayor of the city explained that it is imperative to regulate tourist housing, but also “understand its reality” and address it from the point of view of coexistence with neighbors and security.
In this sense, the councilor has applauded the decision of the Ministry of Housing to force platforms such as Airbnb or Idealista to register all available tourist homes, while at the same time he has stuck out his chest when remembering the suspension of the granting of new licenses in the city and the tightening of the sanctions for illegal apartments, which have caused the closure of more than 500 VUT since April.
Likewise, Almeida has admitted that it is precisely neighborhood coexistence that “worries” the City Council the most, which is why he has advanced that the new ordinance, which is still being drafted, will be in line with “restrict these tourist homes in neighboring communities” and it will be “more open” with the rest of the apartments that are not in residential areas.
In this sense, sources from the Madrid City Council have explained to elEconomista.es that the idea is that these tourist apartments “are concentrated in buildings intended for this use and not in residential ones.” In the latter case, the regulations will establish a series of necessary requirements to be able to operatebut at the moment more details are unknown as the new ordinance is being processed.
Regarding tourism, the mayor has assured that he is not “concerned” but rather “aware” that action must be taken because “it is a very important economic source.” “In Madrid there is no tourismphobiabut I am grateful for not having the sea and receiving thousands of cruise passengers every day like Barcelona, where the situation is very different from ours” he indicated. “In Madrid we have cultural tourism, conferences and exhibitions and business tourism is the that interests us, so we want to continue evolving towards a sustainable model” he added.
“There are not enough homes”
With respect to housing, the councilor has highlighted that it is the main problem that Spain has at the moment and has focused on attracting young people and their talent. “Talent has to be able to live in Madrid and the truth is that there are many difficulties, but we cannot expel him because it is what is going to make us compete as a city” stated Martínez-Almeida.
“There are not enough homes,” said the mayor, making a clear reference to the lack of real estate supply, while highlighting that at the end of the Madrid legislature will have 15,000 more homes thanksin part, to the unlocking of Operation Camp. “It is not enough,” he continued, which is why the Madrid City Council is looking for public-private collaboration formulas that allow this offer to be increased.
Mobility and Madrid 360
In terms of mobility, Martínez-Almeida has highlighted that one of the great challenges for cities is to improve air quality and reduce travel times. For this reason, the Madrid City Council is betting on public transport and the creation of more pedestrian areas, to make The private vehicle “is the worst alternative for the citizen” both in terms of time and money.
The mayor has boasted that Madrid is one of the cities that is making the most progress in the renewal of the automobile fleet, for which 100 million euros have been allocated, and along the same lines he has defended the implementation of Madrid 360 despite the fact that the TSJM has knocked down the initiative. “It was due to a defect in form, but we are going to continue delving deeper into this model,” said Almeida, who has justified the good sustainability data that is leaving the Low Emission Zone. “There is no more pollution beret”has celebrated.
F1, “a window for Madrid”
The councilor has also spoken about the celebration of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Madrid, an event that will have “a great economic impact” and which is “a window to the world” for the capital. “Madrid does not have a physical icon like Paris or London, but we have an intangible as a brand, which is to be a city with a good quality of life, good transportation, a safe leisure alternative, a city where you want to live and for this the F1 is a window to the world. There are few cities that offer this” he remarked.
Finally, Almeida responded in a “modest” way to the question asked about what his legacy as mayor will be. “They tell me I’m not very ambitious, but My goal is to leave a city better than the one I found myself in.because with this I will have fulfilled the premise for which they pay me my salary: Madrid is a city worth being in” he stated.
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